Gaming Guru

Poker Tells: When a Player Unexpectedly Bets

The other day I was playing some 7 Stud Hi/Lo Split - 8 or Better. A
deuce brought it in and a queen immediately raised, signifying a
probable pair of queens. A player showing a 6 called, and then it came
to me with an ace up. I looked down to find another ace with a 9 kicker
in the hole and re-raised.

Three of us went to fourth street where the queen bought a 9, the 6
caught a 5 and I hooked a 5 also. The queen/9 checked, as did the 6/5
and I bet. Both players called. Now on fifth street the situation looked
like this:

Opponent #1

Opponent #2

My Hand

?-? / Q - 9 - 7

?-? / 6 - 5 - 6

A-9 / A - 5 - J

The pair of 6s was now high on board and checked. I wasn't too thrilled
with my hand any more and decided to take a free card by checking along,
since the Q/9/7 would surely check behind me -- but no! Unexpectedly,
the Q/9/7 tossed a bet into the pot.

We all called and went to sixth street. There, the Q/9/7 made an open
pair of 7s, and bet right into a 6/5/6/2 and my own A/5/J/9. The low
board merely called and I trailed in with my newly improved aces and 9s.

At the river, the Q/9/7/7 bet out, the 6/5/6/2 surprisingly folded and I
called, still with aces up. The bettor turned over 7s full of queens and
I humbly said, "Take it down."

So did I get outdrawn in the hand? Yes, I did, but that works both ways
in poker. Did I make any mistakes? Yes -- a big one. Exactly where did I
go wrong? I failed to heed a simple read on fifth street! You see, when
a Q/9/7 could just check right along on fifth street, but bets right
into a 6/5/6 and an A/5/J who represented aces from the get go, there's
little question that the 7 paired him. Since he came into the hand
raising with a queen up, he probably now has queens and 7s. It might be
okay to call with just two aces on fifth street, but when he makes open
7s on sixth, it's just too likely I'm up against a full house --
especially when he bet into a scary looking 6/5/6/2. My correct play was
to fold my aces and 9s on sixth street and save the last two bets.

I'm reliving this poorly played hand in public print to emphasize to you
an important "read" that presents itself over and over at the poker
table. Every once in a while during a hand, a player will make an
unexpected bet out of the blue that takes you somewhat by surprise. When
he does that, you should realize that his last card hit him -- almost
for sure! Here's another generic example.

Let's say you're in a high only Stud hand and came in raising with a
pair of split jacks. Two players call you to fifth street where the
board now looks like this:

Your Hand

Opponent #1

Opponent # 2

7-J / J-4-6

?-? / 7-2-A

?-? / 8-3-Q

The ace has fallen high on board, but he checks. You're planning to bet
when it gets to you -- when suddenly the queen bets in front of you!
Well you know what? The queen paired him!

That may seem too simple, but if the card doesn't fit into any straight
or flush schemes, a straight-forward player will have paired that queen
in a high majority of cases! You're probably against queens up. Release
it and save two or three top bets! Then watch intently as the hole cards
are turned over at the river. You won't be wrong very often.

These kinds of tip-offs can come in various forms. You might be heads up
in the hand all the way to sixth street, where your lone opponent makes:

?-? / 8-3-A-Q

If he checked and called when he caught the ace on fifth, then bet when
he caught the queen on sixth, he most likely paired the queen -- or
already had you beat! His reason for not trying to check/raise would be
that you might not bet, now that two overcards have fallen in his hand.
About the only way you'd still have the best hand here would be if he's
thinking at a level where he's actually hoping you'll throw your hand
away. A shifty player might do that if he has say, buried 9s. That'll be
up to you to judge -- but if you never believe, you'll never make a good
laydown.

There are lots of similar examples in all forms of poker and when they
come up, you must alertly make this basic read. That is, unless you
don't mind calling to the end with the worst hand, the way I did in the
example at the beginning of this article.

This article is provided by the Frank Scoblete Network. Melissa A. Kaplan is the network's managing editor. If you would like to use this article on your website, please contact Casino City Press, the exclusive web syndication outlet for the Frank Scoblete Network. To contact Frank, please e-mail him at fscobe@optonline.net.

Fred Renzey is a high-stakes, expert poker player. On a daily basis he faces--and beats--some of the best players in the country in fierce poker room competition. Now for the first time, Renzey offers his perceptive insights on how to play winning poker. For Fred's 13-page blackjack booklet "Ace/10 Front Count", send $9 to Fred Renzey, P.O. Box 598, Elk Grove Village, IL, 60009

Books by Fred Renzey:

Fred Renzey is a high-stakes, expert poker player. On a daily basis he faces--and beats--some of the best players in the country in fierce poker room competition. Now for the first time, Renzey offers his perceptive insights on how to play winning poker. For Fred's 13-page blackjack booklet "Ace/10 Front Count", send $9 to Fred Renzey, P.O. Box 598, Elk Grove Village, IL, 60009

Books by Fred Renzey:

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